On our early morning walk, Ranger and I happened to follow a
gravel road about a half-mile from the campground, and it took us to the edge
of the Susitna River. Looking to the
north, THERE was Mt. McKinley, bright in the morning sunlight, as well as the
other neighboring high peaks, Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, Mt. Russell. Not a
single cloud blocking them! It was the best view by far, so Ranger and I
hurried back to the RV for my camera, walked back the half-mile, and stood and
looked and looked and looked.
After breakfast and packing-up, we headed out the Talkeetna
Spur Road, but we took the time to stop at the overlook on the edge of town to
take one more look at the big mountain.
Heading south along the Parks Highway, we arrived in Wasilla
which was the ugliest town we have been in on our travels---tacky strip malls,
lots of auto parts stores and auto repair shops (not sure what that was about),
and lots of chain restaurants and stores.
They did, however, have a big Fred Meyer supermarket where we stocked up
on food for the coming week in Kenai, where we expect only small general
stores.
Continuing south, we passed through Anchorage, the largest
city in the state, and at the south end of the city we pulled off at Potter
Marsh, a wildlife refuge. It must be
full of water fowl at other times of year, but there weren’t many in July. (However,
Dan did add two new species to his bird list.)
There was a long boardwalk over the water and marshy areas which made a
nice walk after a few hours of riding, though Ranger was not allowed in.
By this time, it was midafternoon and we could see rain
clouds over the mountains ahead, so we decided to stop in nearby Chugach State
Park, about 20 miles south of Anchorage, at a campground called Bird
Creek. The road we traveled, Seward
Highway, runs right along Turnagain Arm, off Cook Inlet which connects with the
Gulf of Alaska, so this was salt-water.
The guide describes Turnagain Arm as “having one of the world’s
remarkably high tides, with a diurnal range of more than 33 feet”. Along the way, there were scenic overlooks
and from one of them a person might see beluga whales, but by this time it was
raining hard so we went directly to the campground.
Just before the drive into the sites, we passed a bridge
over Bird Creek, and looking down we saw dozens of people fishing. Salmon
season! After settling into our site,
when the rain let up, we walked down to watch, and it was strange to see the
bank lined with fishermen on both sides, with plenty more standing in the
middle in their waders. We were there
near low tide, and the mud-flats extended far out into the Arm. (Think anyone
is doing research on the worms in that mud, Kelly?)
Back at the campsite, the rain stopped, and we enjoyed an evening
outside. The campground is small (28 sites)
and is without hook-ups, but it appears to be fairly new. The 13-mile Indian to Girdwood multi-use
trail passes through it, and that provided a great walking path along the
water. Of note in this location are the
magpies---there are many of them, and depending on how you interpret it, they
either entertained Ranger or drove him crazy. They landed on the picnic table,
right in front of him, squawking and scolding, and when he lunged at them, they
went up into a nearby shrub and continued their noises. At times there were
four or five within sight.
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